Alcohol Does Wonders for the Tongue
by Phoenix Phyre
Summary: Erutis is fed up with Eclipse and Raenef denying their love for each other, and does something about it. Rated for shounnenai and a very seductive Raenef.
1. Chapter 1

This was actually the first Demon Diary piece of fanfiction that I started, but "First Snow" was posted first because it was finished, and this one waited about two years before it got its ending; the style therefore changes subtly between the beginning and end. Also, while First Snow is humorous and fluffy (highly unusual for me), this one has more angst and more seduction… but still managed to retain a goofy scene. I divided this into two parts; part two will be posted in four days, as per usual.

…Can you tell I had title-block?

Those who have read First Snow may note that both of these pieces involve alcohol… that is entirely coincidental. ;;

Enjoy!

"Alcohol Does Wonders for the Tongue"

Part 1 of 2

The night was young and cool, but not unpleasantly so, and a full, brilliantly silver moon cast its beams on a certain unconventional young demon lord, who was brooding once again on the balcony—his place of solitude. He was recovering from another of his royal catastrophes, involving a magic spell gone wrong, an unfortunate wall that got in the way, and a rather irate demonic tutor. Raenef cringed at the memory. Eclipse had looked furious, and dismissed him with a "That is enough for today, master," in such a frigid tone he had fled with tears welling in his eyes.

_You're such a failure,_ he berated himself. _You can't do anything right, and you've embarrassed Eclipse so much he probably wishes he had never found you. He probably wishes his old master was still alive, and the only reason he stays with you is because it's his duty. And you, fool, in love with him! Consider yourself lucky he doesn't hate you, and don't even think there's a snowball's chance in hell he loves you back!_

A strangled noise of frustration escaped him, and he bit his lip harshly, as if the physical pain would alleviate the ache within him. He loved Eclipse so much it hurt just thinking about him, because he knew his feelings could never be returned. It was hard even simply sitting in a room with him without wanting to melt into a puddle of mush at his feet or throw his arms around him. But he could never act on his love, for he was so afraid of losing what he had to risk it. Which left him here, lying prostrate in his longing and love, guarding his tongue and his actions every millisecond he was around his mentor.

Tears threatened to overtake him, but he forced them down, refusing to yield. For he knew if he let just one tear fall, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from dissolving into a flood.

_Demon lords don't cry,_ he told himself fiercely.

After a teeth-gritting moment the urge passed, and he sighed, leaning more heavily on the balcony. He allowed his eyes to slide shut, fatigue washing over him as the wind toyed with the pale strands of his hair. How long could he take this? How long before he snapped and blurted everything, leaving him naked in the light of truth? Eclipse would be disgusted… he would most certainly leave, abandoning Raenef with his crushed hopes and shattered happiness.

For Raenef was happy here, despite holding a rank he seemed unfit for, and living in eternal shame and frustration as he embarrassed the one person he wanted to make proud time and time again. He was happy, simply because he had a roof over his head and food he didn't have to steal, and most of all because he was here with someone he genuinely loved. He loved Eclipse, demon of the third class and fourth ranking in existence. So long as Eclipse was here with him, he would be happy.

Eclipse had promised to stay with him for as long as he wished… and as far as Raenef was concerned, that was forever, for he would never wish his beloved away. But he had no doubt that if Eclipse ever discovered his secret, that promise would be broken in a heartbeat. And he would be left with nothing.

"Master Raenef?"

The young lord jumped and spun at the quiet inquiry, meeting the dark and unreadable gaze of his tutor. His breath caught and he quickly averted his eyes, as if ashamed that Eclipse could read his mind. Which, he reminded himself, he probably could if he tried; the demon could use telepathy, it wasn't that far of a stretch.

"E-eclipse?" Mentally he cringed, recalling the hard, icy tone his tutor had used earlier, but all traces of that were gone, replaced by the usual steady patience that Eclipse usually adopted with him. Nevertheless, the recollection left him with a timid feeling that bordered on fear.

"It is getting late. You should turn in, my lord." The demon's piercing gaze seemed to be able to penetrate his every thought and emotion, leaving him feeling vulnerable. He nodded, feeling frustrated and a failure at Eclipse's smooth, patient voice; he felt that he would prefer yelling to this calm, and in his mind, resigned tone. Eclipse paused, noting with concern his liege's shy and passive attitude.

"Is something troubling you, master?"

Bile rose in the youth's throat and he choked, shaking his head. _Nothing I can tell you, at least,_ he thought. Why was Eclipse so damn patient with him? He was sure that if he was anyone else, he would have paid dearly for the afternoon's little—alright massive—accident. Sometimes he wished Eclipse would yell or throw fire at him; anything but the seemingly limitless patience and forgiveness for his every fault and blunder that only made him feel a worthless failure and undeserving of his tutor.

Eclipse stood there uncertainly, receiving no response and wondering how to handle this situation. The only other time he had seen the young lord like this was in Krayon's realm, when Raenef had clung to him tightly, seeming on the verge of tears. Now he was torn between rushing over and putting his arms around him, and retreating to a safe distance. He was treading on unfamiliar territory to be certain, so he just stood there in indecision (something he rarely experienced), watching the boy in his apparent inner conflict.

Finally Raenef choked out, "I'm sorry I'm such a failure, Eclipse." He turned abruptly away from his mentor and leaned back over the balcony, fighting the onrush of eminent tears.

_Crap… now he's going to lecture me for apologizing_

Eclipse stared at the back of his head in surprise for a moment before registering that he should do something. Moving up behind the youth, he moved as if to slip his arms around him, but thought better of it at the last moment and settled instead for placing his hands gently on his shoulders.

"Lord Raenef, you are not a failure. You are merely untrained, and given time you will learn to hone your skill. You must be patient, young master. You will not become a great demon lord overnight."

Raenef turned towards him, although not meeting his gaze, and Eclipse let his hands fall to his sides.

"But… I…"

"No buts," Eclipse cut him off. "Whether you realize it or not, master, you have made much progress since you first began your training."

Finally, Raenef looked up. "You mean it?"

Eclipse allowed himself a tiny smile. "Of course." His hand came up on its own accord to rest on the boy's shoulder. Raenef leaned forward, resting his forehead on Eclipse's chest. The raven-haired demon hesitated a moment, then slid his arms loosely around his master. Raenef's tentative voice came from the bared portion of his chest, his warm breath making his sensitive flesh tingle.

"So you're not mad?"

A hand moved up to stroke the flaxen strands of his hair.

"No my lord, I am not angry. I could not possibly stay angry with you for long, little master." He felt Raenef's slender arms lock around his waist, clinging to him like a lifeline, and he wondered again at how this boy had undone him. Any other would be naught but smoke and ash by now, but it felt so natural to take the youth in his arms, feeling strangely comfortable in his embrace. And that was saying something, for Eclipse was not one for physical contact.

His fingers had been combing through his fair hair, and unexpectedly they fumbled on something small and hard among the soft strands. He extracted it deftly and examined it curiously, then began to laugh.

Raenef pulled back far enough to look up at him.

"Eclipse?"

"There still are marble shards in your hair from the explosion, young master." Eclipse discarded the chip with a casual flick of the wrist. Raenef giggled softly and laid his forehead back on Eclipse's chest.

"Take them out for me?" he murmured, glad for the excuse to have Eclipse run his hands through his hair.

"As you wish." Eclipse freed the young demon's hair from its bind, allowing it to cascade about his shoulders, and began thoroughly combing the silky strands with his long fingers. Although he would never admit it to anyone, not even himself, he was also glad for the excuse. Raenef sighted contentedly, melting into Eclipse's strong embrace, simply enjoying the feel of those slender fingers sliding through his hair.

The taller demon lost himself in the task, meticulously removing every tiny grain of marble hidden in the strands, marveling at their silky softness, baby fine and flawlessly smooth. They slipped through his fingers like water, shimmering and silver in the gentle glow of the moon. Raenef was impossibly warm and fit so perfectly in his arms, a vision of innocent beauty, frustratingly but endearingly ingenuous. He could feel him breathing softly and the gentle beating of his heart against his chest, so wonderfully alive and real.

Long after all traces of marble had been removed, Eclipse continued to stroke the boy's hair until at last he could no longer rationalize it with himself. Reluctantly he drew back, and Raenef looked up at him with a sleepy but content expression, and although he looked slightly disappointed, it was a welcome change from the depressed state he had found him in.

"It is getting late…" he started, vaguely recalling having said the same thing a while ago.

"Yes," Raenef agreed. "Thank you."

Eclipse gave him a small smile. "Goodnight, my lord."

"Goodnight, Eclipse."

The older demon waited until Raenef had disappeared to his room before returning to his own with a murmured, "Go!"

Some distance away, Erutis watched the two demons vanish. And groaned in frustration.

"When are they going to get on with it!" she demanded of the heavens, going SD and running around in crazed circles.

"Who's getting on what?" Chris asked, popping out of nowhere.

"Raenef and Eclipse!" Erutis complained. "They're never going to admit their feelings for each other! Eclipse is too proud and proper to do such a thing, and Raenef is too damn scared or naïve, one or the other—or both. Either way, they're just going to go on and on, drooling over each other but never doing anything about it. They're so frustrating!" She flung a poor rock that had been minding its own business onto the grass, trampled and broken courtesy of her little rampage.

Chris pondered this for a moment. "Wait a sec, don't you have a crush on—" Erutis stomped his face into the ground. The mutilated grass murmured in sympathy.

"Dunno what you're babbling about," she muttered. "Anyway, I'm sick and tired of watching them make doe eyes at each other and pine uselessly."

"Well what're you gonna do about it?" Chris grumbled, scrubbing dirt off his face. "It's not like you can make them confess."

A maniacal glint appeared in Erutis's eyes, and she grinned scarily.

"I think it's time I took matters into my own hands…"

All through the next day, while Eclipse and Raenef were shut up in the study (as Eclipse wouldn't be letting Raenef practice any more magic anytime soon), Erutis could be found scouring the castle for… something.

Whenever Chris inquired upon this, she would get a crazed look in her eyes and reply, "You'll see," with a terribly scary grin plastered all over her face.

"Go practice your swords or something," she told him irritably the sixth time he asked. It was about mid-afternoon, and a fruitless search had left her grumpy.

"But _you're_ my trainer—"

"Fine," she snapped. "Two million strokes, go."

Chris shut his mouth, but didn't move.

"They're demons!" Erutis cried in exasperation, "They _must_ have some somewhere!"

"Have _what?_" Chris asked yet again.

"Didn't I tell you to go practice?" the knight muttered absently from deep within a dusty cupboard. Then, "Aha!"

"Aha?" echoed Chris, wondering why he was feeling vaguely ill.

Erutis emerged triumphantly, shaking dust off her cape and holding an intricately shaped flask. "I knew they had to have it."

"What is it?" Chris asked, eyeing it half-curiously, half-warily. The wicked grin returned and Chris groaned.

"Never mind, I don't want to know…"

The study was strangely quiet, as Eclipse was usually lecturing about one thing or another, but that could be attributed to the blond youth draped over his arm, sound asleep. Normally he would have found some truly wicked way to wake the boy up, but this time he let him sleep, blaming himself for his lord's fatigue. It had only been an hour and a half to midnight when they had finally turned in last night, and the fact that Raenef had trouble staying awake during lessons on a full night's sleep (plus the fact that he was such a deep sleeper) had inclined Eclipse to just leave him be. All in all, he was quite comfortable musing while Raenef dozed peacefully against him.

Absently he stroked the flaxen locks, unable to get enough of the fine silky strands. He loved the feel of the youth's hair, and he found it to be a current addiction of his (along with white chocolate and long steamy baths). In fact, he couldn't seem to keep his hands away from it, which seemed strangely drawn to the silken stuff like a moth to a flame. Which meant he found his fingers entwined in it whenever he had the excuse to do so. And Raenef drifting in dreamland was at present a very good excuse.

Raenef was undeniably beautiful, he observed, with soft blond hair that seemed to fly everywhere at once, framing his youthful face, delicate and lovely. His skin was pale for a southerner, not the same alabaster white of his own skin, but pale nonetheless, and impeccably smooth. But his eyes were by far his best feature; soft emerald, gentle, sparkling with warmth and mirth, and a pure innocence Eclipse had not seen since longer than he cared to remember.

Of course, these traits were certainly not becoming of a demon lord, but after the incident with that insolent book, he found he preferred his lord's unconventionality with all his quirks to the "true" demonic personality that had revealed itself.

Despite the frequent embarrassment Raenef caused him (not to mention making him the laughing stock of the entire demonic world) and his exasperating naivety and gentle nature, Eclipse found he had grown quite fond of him.

But perhaps this was an understatement. He recalled the promise he had made to Raenef in the garden, so long ago it seemed; a promise to stay by the young lord's side as long as he wished. He did not regret in any way making that promise. In fact, he harbored a secret fear that he himself had not quite come to terms with—that the day might come when Raenef would wish for him to leave. He did not permit himself to linger on that unpleasant notion, but his subconscious sometimes haunted him with the possibility when he let his guard down.

His dark eyes settled on his sleeping lord, and a strange pulling sensation erupted in his chest, as if an invisible force was tugging him toward the youth, binding them together. He analyzed the feeling, foreign and familiar at the same time. It tended to visit him when he was in close proximity to Raenef (which was often) and times when he was thinking of him; it was disturbing and comforting at the same time. Demons didn't feel deep bonds of attraction or affection; fondness and desire, yes, but nothing that would lead them to a dependency on the object of such emotions. And yet here he was, one hand tangled in his liege's hair, with a strange feeling in his chest, an aching attraction, a protective affection, that one might even call…

The door burst open and a gala girl knight burst into the room; Eclipse withdrew his hand sharply and fixed upon her his most intimidating death glare. Erutis ignored him, her green eyes flickering over the dozing Raenef, briefly over Eclipse's now disengaged hand, and then meeting his sharp gaze—er, glare.

"Dinner's ready," she announced gleefully, keeping her voice low out of consideration for the sleeping occupant of the room. Eclipse hadn't the faintest idea what could possibly be so amusing to her that would make her sound so positively giddy, but he decided that the maniacal gleam in her eyes did not bode well. So he did what most do when feeling some vital information is being withheld from them—he adopted an irritable tone and proceeded to chastise her.

"Do remember, _human_, that you are an underling in a demon lord's castle. Knock on a door before entering." Eclipse expected an indignant retort, but instead Erutis gave him an annoyingly knowing smirk, and again her eyes flicked to his hand.

"You got it, Eclipse," she replied cheerfully. "But don't be long; I'm sure _Master_ Raenef wouldn't want to miss dinner." She retreated quickly and shut the door. Eclipse sighed heavily.

"Master Raenef…" He shook the boy gently, rousing him from his slumber. "Master Raenef. Wake up, my lord."

Emerald eyes hazed with fatigue blinked open, and then focused on the raven-haired demon as Raenef sat up.

"Eclipse…?" Mild befuddlement flickered across his face before realization dawned in his eyes. "Eclipse! Oh, I'm sorry, I fell asleep again, didn't I? I-I mean… how dare _you_… admonish _me_…" He was cut off by Eclipse's soft laughter.

"It's alright, Master Raenef. We were out late last night, I do not blame you."

"Yes… we were…" A faint rosy hue colored the young lord's cheeks, and he smiled, looking relieved and a little abashed.

An uncomfortable pause. Eclipse cleared his throat.

"Shall we go to dinner then, my lord?"

"Dinnertime already?" Raenef yawned cutely, and Eclipse had a strange desire to cuddle him. He blinked, shaking his head slightly. _Where did that come from?_

Raenef was already at the opened door, one delicate hand resting on the edge, looking back at his mentor.

"Eclipse…?" The demon looked over at the hesitant sound of his name.

His breath caught in his throat as he caught sight of the youth, with the bright sun lighting up the pale gold strands framing his face, still glowing with a faint blush, and his lovely emerald eyes shimmering with the indescribable stuff of Raenef that made him so frustratingly un-demon-like, and so wonderfully endearing at the same time.

"Yes, my lord?"

"…Are you coming with me?"

He was beautiful, standing there bathed in the liquid rays of the dying sun, lush lips slightly parted, looking almost ethereal, lovely and golden. The notion that he would make a better creature of heaven than a demon lord suddenly occurred to Eclipse, but he dismissed it immediately.

"Yes… I am."

A breath-taking smile lit up Raenef's youthful face, a genuine happiness glowing in his eyes as Eclipse rose to follow him out the door. And Eclipse couldn't prevent a small smile from tugging at his lips as well, for he had found during his time with the young lord that his smiles were irresistibly contagious.

As they went down the enormous hall together, with Raenef skipping and bouncing slightly beside him, eyes alight with mirth, Eclipse decided not to remind him that as demons they could simply teleport. And when the blonde turned his radiant smile upon him again, Eclipse concluded that he was glad that Raenef was a demon lord and not a creature of heaven, and especially that he was _his_ lord, for if he wasn't Eclipse would have never felt the warmth of that brilliant smile, or seen the pure gentleness of his spring green eyes. Yes, despite the frustration, the humiliation, the embarrassment… he was glad. Glad to call him his lord.

Glad to call him his.

TBC

Okay, well the alcohol has yet to arrive, but fear not, it comes in the second half… in four days. Be patient! Review please; authors thrive off feedback. Constructive criticism is welcome, as always.

I like how my section breaks didn't show up at all...

PhoenixPhyre


	2. Chapter 2

A big thank you to those of you that reviewed; all your comments made me grin like an idiot. XD

Sorry about the lame-o section breaks. Originally I had something that looked like a glass, but they got eaten during the upload. Stupid ff is being a butt.

And enter the alcohol….

"Alcohol Does Wonders for the Tongue"

Part 2 of 2

If Eclipse had thought it impossible for his young master to act any less demon-like, he was gravely mistaken. For here at the table sat said demon lord, happily creating a snowman on the table out of whipped cream. The whipped cream, along with many other miscellaneous foods, had been conveniently lying out on the table—perhaps a little too conveniently.

Presently the successor to the most feared demon lord in the war between demons and heaven's creatures was adding eyes (peas) to his giant pile of whipped cream—er, snowman, with two sticks of Pocky protruding from his tuft of blonde hair (which he had seized happily squealing, "Schopshtischs!" and thrust into his hair like Chinese hair pins), and singing a song he was making up on the spot in a very slurred voice.

Eclipse, needless to say, was sitting in traumatized horror as he observed this display. Chris was looking like he was trying to decide whether to be amused or disturbed, and Erutis was wearing a strange and very suspicious expression of dreamy placidity with an undercurrent of smug satisfaction.

"Tish ish vewy good watsher," Raenef commented suddenly, interrupting his own rendition of "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Nococuffs" and taking a long drink from his cup. Then Eclipse noticed that Raenef had been drinking quite a bit of water tonight… and suddenly it clicked.

Raenef was drunk.

Someone must have spiked his drink with some sort of liquor. And judging from Raenef's falling-off-the-log state, it was likely an extremely strong liquor. (Unless of course, poor Raenef just can't hold his drink, which is quite possible considering he is a minor.) Eclipse suddenly found himself to be exceedingly vexed.

Meanwhile, Erutis, completely oblivious to the rapidly darkening aura of the demon, was basking in the triumph of her little scheme. She was just mentally congratulating herself on a job well done when her plate suddenly burst into flame. Shrieking, she jumped out of her chair and stumbled back a few paces, and found herself staring into the face of a very terrifying Eclipse surrounded by black fire.

"If I find out you did something…" Eclipse growled, allowing his threat speak for itself as he sent a tongue of flame licking up the knight's sleeve. Erutis felt her blood run cold even as scorching heat enveloped her shoulder.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she yelped nervously, and then fled from the room with black flames gleefully nipping at her heels. Suddenly Chris felt very isolated and vulnerable, left alone with an enraged Eclipse literally blazing with fury, and a very smashed Raenef, who was enthusiastically creating bubbles magically and popping them with his fork. So he turned tail and fled after the flaming knight, panic written clearly all over his countenance and without so much as a pathetic excuse.

Sighing wearily, Eclipse despondently allowed his lovely black fire to retreat back into his aura at the absence of a victim to vent his ire upon. He turned to look desolately at his giggling liege, who had migrated to the floor and was making smiley faces on the marble with his noodles, and turned away briefly to spontaneously combust a rather elegant priceless porcelain vase. And thus mentally prepared for the task at hand, he strode deliberately over to his lord.

"Lord Raenef, it is getting late. Perhaps you should turn in."

Raenef looked up at him, but in the precarious effort to make his gaze to reach Eclipse's face (which seemed remarkably higher than usual) he overbalanced and flopped over onto his back. His normally clear green eyes were hazy and unfocused, and he found himself wondering whether Eclipse actually had four eyes or eight.

"It's not that late," he protested, struggling in vain to roll back over onto his stomach, but when it didn't work he decided on his back was altogether a better position anyway. Eclipse noted with mild interest that his speech wasn't slurred anymore.

"You have been here nearly four hours." This was a downright lie, but Eclipse didn't think the young demon lord wouldn't be able to figure it out in his current state.

"Really? Felt like only half an hour…"

Eclipse sweatdropped nervously, but Raenef didn't pursue it.

"Okay then." Valiantly he staggered to his feet, but when he tried to take a step forward he ended up back on the floor on his butt. Hard.

"Ow…" he complained, rubbing his backside and giggling hysterically. Eclipse watched him in exasperation for a moment, and then picked up the youth's forgotten cup and took a tiny sip. He wrinkled his nose and sighed.

"As I suspected… Elven ale."

"D'ja say somethin', Eclipse?" Raenef asked, half-distracted by a fly buzzing around his blonde head.

"Yes, my liege, I suggested you turn in," answered Eclipse.

"Oh. Yeah, okay. G—"

"Wait!" Raenef stopped mid-incantation, and looked up at Eclipse, mouth still half-open.

"I will take you." Eclipse did not trust a tipsy Raenef with even this simple spell.

"Okey-dokey," said Raenef amiably, and held his arms up to him. After a moment's hesitation, Eclipse scooped him up obligingly, and Raenef wrapped his arms around his neck, snuggling into his chest.

"Go," Eclipse muttered, teleporting them to his lord's room. As he headed for the gargantuan bed dripping with silk, Raenef's hand tangled in his long hair and his warm, moist breath feathered against the bared skin of his chest, all of which he tried desperately to ignore.

"Master Raenef—"

"Mmm… Eclipse…" The low, sultry vibrations from Raenef's voice sent wonderful shivers down his spine. "You smell delicious…" Velvet lips ghosted over his chest, almost causing him to drop his charge. The tipsy, carefree Raenef of earlier was gone, replaced by an almost vulpine, seductive Raenef. Eclipse gritted his teeth, fighting the enticing imagery his lord's tepid, liquid tone brought to mind.

_Damn that ale. Damn that knight._

"Do you have any idea…" the blonde in his arms murmured huskily, lapping lightly at Eclipse's skin, "…how incredibly sexy you are?"

This time, Eclipse did drop him. Fortunately he had reached the bed by this time (a journey that had seemed to take ten times as long as it should have), so Raenef landed will a dull _fwump_ amid the silken sheets. Giggling, he smirked coyly up at his mentor.

"Come, sit with me," Raenef insisted, tugging at the dark robe. Eclipse sat, even as every rational voice in his head screamed and waved colorful flags at him telling him to stop. His young lord tucked his slender legs beneath him and ran a finger down the taller demon's chest, looking far too sexy for his own good, and making every other voice Eclipse's head cheer gleefully (though Eclipse would rather dress in pink frills in front of Lord Krayon than admit any part of him was ever gleeful). Swallowing hard and rapidly loosing control of his hormones, Eclipse found his mouth strangely dry.

"My lord… I should go, you need to sleep."

Raenef pouted, one small hot hand splayed on Eclips's bare chest. "Stay with me," he beseeched. "…Please?" he purred in the other demon's ear, and Eclipse's breath caught in his throat. Then he closed his eyes and counted slowly to ten, bringing his pulse back down to normal with great effort.

"You are intoxicated," he said finally, to himself as well as Raenef. "You do not know what you are doing."

"Ah…" Raenef smirked, "…but you know what they say… 'Alcohol speaks only the truth'…" He curled himself around Eclipse from behind, pressing himself against his back and draping his slim arms around the other's broad shoulders. Eclipse's dark eyes slid shut again as he battled the nearly overpowering urge to pin his lord to the bed and ravage his coy little mouth until his thirst was satisfied, the urge intensifying as Raenef skimmed his fingertips over Eclipse's chest and reduced the demon's insides to shivering jelly with a soft brush of his lips along the shell of his ear.

"Alcohol… does wonders for the tongue…" Raenef continued silkily, "…and now that it has liberated mine, I wish to tell you a secret…" Eclipse forgot to breathe as the lips turned to sultry tongue tracing his ear.

"My lord…" The small part of his mind that was still functioning and rational briefly considered teleporting away, but since Raenef was still draped all over him he would end up bringing him with him. The blonde drew his attention back to the matter at hand, or rather in his lap at present. Small hands on his shoulders pushed him down on the bed, and Eclipse raised questioning eyes to meet hot, smoky green. With a truly wicked smirk, Raenef straddled the other's narrow hips, and slowly, deliberately pressed his lips to his. A delicious jolt surged through Eclipse, and for a moment his mind simply melted in bliss, drowning in the petal soft lips, the subtly sweet taste of Raenef, the intoxicating heat.

Then Raenef pulled back, the smirk returning to his rose lips at the dazed look in Eclipse's eyes, and he rolled off his mentor and sprawled on the liquid silk sheets, his gaze burning and cryptic. Slowly Eclipse sat up as he regained control of his limbs; a darkness in his eyes hinted at an internal pained turmoil.

"I've been wanting to tell you for so long," Raenef murmured. "I… am in love…" He pressed his finger to Eclipse's chest. "… with you."

Eclipse tore his eyes away. "You do not know what you are saying. It is the alcohol that speaks." He surprised himself with the frigidity of his tone, but the coldness masked the pain of knowing that Raenef would not be saying this, would not be doing this, if he was not under the influence of the ale.

Raenef flinched as if Eclipse had stabbed him with a blade of ice. "You're wrong. I know exactly what I'm saying. There's nothing you, or I, can do about it. I don't know how to prove it to you, but I do. I can't help it. So… how… how dare _you_… mock _me_…" Voice heavy with emotion, he trailed of, fists clenched in Eclipse's robe, head lowered, unable to finish. Gradually his grip loosened, and he turned away, refusing to look at the other demon. Eclipse sat immobile, torn, as the silence stretched miles between them. Finally, Raenef spoke.

"It is alright if you do not love me in return," he said quietly. "Go then, if you do not, and we shall forget this incident."

For a full minute, Eclipse didn't move. Then, all his hard learned rationality went out the window, and lay beside his lord and wrapped his arms around his slender form, pulling him close. He felt Raenef smile and sigh softly, leaning into his warmth.

---

"What did you do to Raenef!" Chris demanded of a severely singed knight.

"Um, that." Erutis wore a look half-way between a grin of triumph and a grimace. "I spiked his drink."

"Yes, Captain Obvious," said Chris dryly. "With what?"

"With this." Erutis pulled the bottle she had found earlier out of her hammerspace—er, pocket. "Elven ale."

"WHAT!" The cleric's jaw hit the floor. "Ow…" He rubbed his chin. "Doesn't that stuff—um—"

"Er, well, just what it says in fine print." Erutis squinted at the label. "I didn't really read it… 'extreme intoxication, causes intermittent severe bouts of hyperactivity, high distraction levels, and sexual tendencies'—oh. Hm. Fancy that."

Chris went to bang his head against the nearest wall.

---

Eclipse woke the next morning still wrapped around Raenef, who, unsurprisingly, was still entwined in Sleep's embrace. Idly he toyed with the boy's soft locks, mulling over the night before and hesitantly peeking through the doors of opportunity this turn of events had opened, with the air of a child poking around where he knew he shouldn't be, but curiosity getting the better of him anyway.

He had certainly never even glimpsed that side of his young master before, and, familiar the properties of Elven ale from past a experience (one which no one would _ever_ be able to make him recount, not even on threat of bewitching his beloved hair neon green), he wondered exactly how much of the Raenef of last night was the ale, and how much was actually him. The Raenef he knew was a far cry from the seductive blonde he had encountered last night, but surely even the ale, powerful as it is, couldn't create a new personality. There must have been some part of that Raenef that is real.

The intensity of his feelings certainly had been real.

He shivered, recalling the smoky ardency in the blonde's jade gaze, the coy feathering touches, that soft, sweet mouth press against him—

Damn Erutis, he thought, not really meaning it. After all, it certainly hadn't been an entirely unpleasant experience, and here he was in his master's bed with Opportunity barreling down his door on an African bull elephant.

Raenef stirred in his arms and moaned softly; then turned to blink at him with a purblind gaze, still hazy with sleep.

"Eclipse?"

Eclipse observed the sun of comprehension dawning in his green eyes. They widened in shock and Raenef sat up abruptly.

"Eclipse! Ow…" he groaned, holding his head and wincing, swaying like seaweed in the tides. His mentor helped him lie down again.

"It is best if you do not move, my lord," Eclipse advised him gently. Once the universe stopped pretending it was a gleeful dolphin and settled down, he looked at Eclipse and registered confusion.

"Eclipse…? What are you… here… I… what happened?"

Eclipse felt a massive sweat drop forming. "Do you remember anything?"

"Um… I fell asleep in the study, and then we went to dinner… and that's it."

Eclipse sighed in mild exasperation. It figures…

He noticed Raenef's eyes were shut tightly, as if opening them was too painful. Considering the strength and the amount of alcohol he had consumed, that was a likely explanation, thought Eclipse. He waved two fingers at the heavy window drapes and the lighter curtains around the bed and they snapped shut, leaving them in lighting equivalent to twilight. Raenef seemed to relax a little and chanced to open his eyes.

"Thank you."

Eclipse nodded in acknowledgement and bid his lord wait here (it was unlikely that he would go anywhere in this state, but Eclipse had learned long ago, that when dealing with Raenef, it was better to be safe than sorry), and teleported to his equivalent of a medicine closet, except it was more of a medicine mansion, with fifteen and a quarter wings and a thick directory at every juncture. He picked out a little indigo flask on the fourth shelf; there was a whole shelf of these indigo bottles of varying sizes, as if this was a remedy oft needed, but they were all layered with at least a half-year's coat of dust. Then he teleported back to Raenef's bed and helped him sit up.

"Drink this." He pressed the small flask into the boy's slender hand. Obediently Raenef took it and downed it. A moment later the drum corps rehearsing on his brain receded, and the world shifted back into focus.

"Better?" inquired Eclipse, taking the empty flask and setting it on the bedside table through a slit in the curtains. Raenef nodded.

"Much… what was it?"

"Hangover cure."

"Hang over…" the youth puzzled, "Wait… was I drunk?"

Eclipse nodded. "Your drink… had been tampered with."

"But still, how did you end up… I didn't do anything I should know about… did I?" His cheeks colored, a blush rising against his will. Eclipse hesitated, and then decided a little turnabout was fair play, even if there had been alcohol involved the first time.

"Well…" he began, lowering his voice nearly to a purr and invading Raenef's personal space, "I took you back to your room… and I tried to leave, but you insisted that I stay. You said you had a secret to tell me…" His dark eyes turned liquid hot and his hand began to slide up Raenef's arm, which was bare as he had not changed out of yesterday's summer clothes. Raenef felt heat rising in his face, as well as in other places, and his brain suddenly forgot how to breathe.

"Th-then what?" he gasped, as Eclipse drew one long finger along his jawline.

"Then…" Eclipse husked into his ear, eliciting a shiver, and then he placed one arm through the space between Raenef's elbow and hip and leaned on it so he was leaning over the blonde, and then brazenly pressed Raenef down onto the bed with the other hand. The young lord squeaked in surprise, staring up with wide eyes at the demon looming above him.

"…you did this…" Eclipse pressed his lips gently to Raenef's in a brief but lingering kiss. Then he withdrew, amused at the youth's dazed expression which he was sure was identical to the one he had worn after the kiss from the previous night.

Raenef brought a hand to his tingling lips, feeling as if his entire being was singing with electricity and fighting to regain coherency.

"And then what?" he asked breathlessly.

"Then…" murmured Eclipse, his eyes dark with intensity, "You told me that you loved me."

Raenef found he was paralyzed beneath that gaze.

"Was it the truth?" His tone was unreadable.

Raenef's heart skipped a beat. "Yes…" he whispered, "I do love you." Eclipse smirked, as if he had known the answer all along, but the blonde caught the flicker of relief that flashed across his eyes.

"Good," Eclipse replied, and kissed him again.

---

Chris ambled down the hallway, positively lost once more, when he spotted Erutis with her ear pressed against a door he recognized as the one to Raenef's room. He stopped.

"What're you—"

Erutis pounced on him, clapping a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up! They'll hear you!" She keeled over unexpectedly, a dreamy look plastered all over her face. "They finally admitted it! All thanks to me!" She squealed happily. "Oh, the cuteness… Eclipse can't possibly be mad at me now!"

"So it _was_ you…." A dangerously quiet voice issued from behind her. Terror seized her, and she went SD, turning slowly to face a terrifying Eclipse with a handful of fire once more. A chibi Raenef poked his head curiously from behind Eclipse's robes, billowing with ire.

"Eep!" Erutis held a desperately flailing Chris in front of her as a shield.

"So _you_ spiked my drink, Erutis?" Raenef inquired.

"Eh… well, all's well that ends well, right?" she laughed nervously. When Eclipse continued to glare death and flaming arrows at her, she began to back away slowly. "Uh… well, gotta go!" She fled rapidly with Chris scrambling after her, Eclipse's Black Fire of Painful Doom hot on her heels.

"Was that… really necessary?" Raenef asked tentatively as Eclipse continued to glower darkly after the knight, even as his magical fire dissipated.

"She must learn her place, my lord."

"Well…" Raenef dropped his gaze, blushing slightly. "Something good came out of it, right?"

Eclipse sighed. "Indeed, however, I believe this was her intention."

"Are you complaining?" Raenef asked shyly. Eclips tilted the youth's chin up so Raenef would meet his gaze, and then kissed him softly.

"Not at all," he murmured, and Raenef smiled. The young lord slipped his arms around his mentor, pressing close against him and burying his face in his chest.

"Will you stay with me forever, Eclipse?" he whispered, echoing his request from what seemed so long ago.

"As long as you wish, my love," Eclipse replied, embracing him warmly, and had no doubt that forever was in his arms.

---

Owari

---

Hmm… what did you think? I'm vaguely dissatisfied with it… but after two years it's time this thing got posted. Feedback, please!

Btw, I'm still offering a beta-service—e-mail me if you're interested!

PhoenixPhyre


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